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Swiss Info

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 08:26:00 GMT
President says Switzerland has invested heavily in the EU
President Guy Parmelin said high-level talks with the European Union must resume, after the vice-president of the European Commission for Inter-institutional Relations, Maroš Šefčovič, suggested that outstanding Swiss contributions to the Cohesio...

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 17:14:00 GMT
Bye bye Bern: Moutier to join canton Jura by 2026
The cantons of Bern and Jura have signed a road map on the politically delicate issue of how the town of Moutier will move from canton Bern to neighbouring canton Jura. The aim is for the switch to take place by 2026 at the latest, the two cantons s...

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 15:45:00 GMT
Parliament approves strengthening European border agency
The Swiss parliament has backed greater commitment to protecting the external borders of Europe’s Schengen zone. On Wednesday it passed a government decision to increase Switzerland’s contribution to the EU’s European Border and Coast Guard Ag...

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 14:02:00 GMT
Pressure mounts to keep free Covid tests
The Swiss government is facing increasing pressure to maintain free tests against Covid-19. A parliamentary health committee on Wednesday demanded the government review its plans to make people pay for asymptomatic tests. It said free tests were a ...

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 13:13:34 GMT
Parliament rejects blanket ban on tobacco ads
The Swiss parliament has agreed new advertising and sponsorship regulations for tobacco products. However, the supporters of a total ban on tobacco advertising are unimpressed. The long-running debate was heated until the end, with the political lef...

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 10:48:00 GMT
Campaigners want better access to education for immigrants
An alliance of non-governmental groups has called for improved access to education for refugees in Switzerland. The groups said they had collected more than 17,000 signatures for a non-binding petition, demanding a right to education regardless of t...

Wed, 22 Sep 2021 09:07:00 GMT
Solidarity vital to overcome crises, Swiss president tells UN
Guy Parmelin, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, has called for solidarity to tackle global environmental and trade issues. Addressing the United Nations general assembly in New York, Parmelin said the Covid pandemic had entrenched p...

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 14:27:00 GMT
Fourth Covid wave has ‘not yet broken’
The rates of new Covid infections and hospital admissions have fallen in Switzerland over the past week. But the overall situation remains tense, and the vaccination rate is still too slow, say health officials. “The situation has continued to cal...

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 12:52:57 GMT
Swiss travel industry delighted about opening of US borders
Swiss businesses are rubbing their hands over the planned opening of United States borders to fully vaccinated Europeans, having been shut out for 18 months. Tour operators are already receiving the first bookings. “We’re pleased that holidays i...

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 11:18:00 GMT
Swiss campaigners launch new basic income plan
Five years after voters roundly rejected the idea, campaigners have again launched a people’s initiative aimed at introducing an unconditional basic income for all in Switzerland. This time they say they have clarified how it will be financed. The...

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 10:08:00 GMT
Parliament accepts principle of organ donation consent
The Swiss parliament has agreed to reform the national organ donation system, moving from explicit to presumed consent. The issue is due to go to a nationwide vote at a later date. On Monday, the Senate followed an earlier vote by the House of Repre...

Tue, 21 Sep 2021 10:01:44 GMT
Alzheimer cases will more than double by 2050
On World Alzheimer’s Day Swiss organisations have called for better framework conditions for the prevention, research and treatment of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. They also expressed alarm at the ever-growing number of cases. About ...

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 14:15:00 GMT
Legal proceedings dropped against AFD’s Alice Weidel over alleged donations
German prosecutors have closed the illegal donations case involving the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party co-leader Alice Weidel, it has been reported. Germany had asked Switzerland for legal assistance concerning the affair. According t...

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 13:04:00 GMT
Swiss admit shortcomings in protection of children
Switzerland could “do more” to prevent violence against young children, a top Swiss official admitted to a United Nations panel of experts reviewing the country's child rights record. Switzerland ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the C...

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 10:26:00 GMT
Gambling bans spike in Switzerland
The number of gamblers banned from Swiss casinos rose sharply last year to over 10,000, driven by the growth in online gambling sites, the Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag has reported. At the end of last year, a total of 72,322 people were banned fro...

Mon, 20 Sep 2021 09:52:00 GMT
Covid certificate rule under attack from student groups
Students at several universities in Switzerland have staged protests against the mandatory use of Covid certificates to attend courses. On Monday, demonstrators in the cities of Zurich, Lucerne, Bern and St Gallen called for free access to educatio...

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 14:45:00 GMT
Many Swiss could prefer wider vaccine choice, survey finds
Some 72% of non-vaccinated people in Switzerland are holding out due to fears about mRNA technology, while 31% are “fundamentally” against the Covid-19 vaccination, according to a survey. The representative survey by research group Sotomo, repor...

Sun, 19 Sep 2021 11:06:00 GMT
Critics of Swiss Covid policy continue to protest
Several thousand people gathered in Winterthur (northern Switzerland) on Saturday in opposition to the current measures to tackle the spread of the coronavirus. Several groups backed the demonstration, including the so-called “Freiheitstrychler”...

Sat, 18 Sep 2021 16:28:00 GMT
Giant Swiss artwork ‘unveiled’ at the United Nations
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis on Saturday inaugurated an 11,000 square metre fresco by Franco-Swiss artist Saype at the United Nations in New York. The artwork, “World in Progress II”, symbolises the desire to strengthen international so...

Sat, 18 Sep 2021 15:43:00 GMT
Unions contest pension reform plans with Bern demonstration
Thousands marched in Bern on Saturday against a proposed reforms of the Swiss old-age pension scheme, notably the plan to raise the retirement age for women from 64 to 65. The demonstration, which was authorised by Bern authorities, was attended by ...

Sat, 18 Sep 2021 11:08:00 GMT
Inquiry to look at possible leak of documents in Berset blackmail case
After more details of a blackmail case involving Interior Minister Alain Berset were revealed in the press this week, a special prosecutor is to investigate whether official documents were leaked. On Thursday, Weltwoche magazine published new detail...

Fri, 17 Sep 2021 14:29:00 GMT
Swiss official sentenced in public sector corruption case
A former Swiss government official has been sentenced to four years and four months in prison in connection with one of the biggest corruption scandals to have hit the public sector in Switzerland. The former head of department at the State Secretar...

Fri, 17 Sep 2021 13:39:00 GMT
Swiss government outlines details of new CO2 bill
The government plans to present a new revision of the CO2 law before the end of the year which is unlikely to contain any new taxes to fight climate change. In June, 51% of voters rejected an earlier revised CO2 law. On Friday the Federal Council (e...

Fri, 17 Sep 2021 12:20:00 GMT
Swiss aim to plug Horizon Europe research funding shortfalls
The government says it is seeking to implement transitional measures to make up for European research funding shortfalls that have arisen after relations soured with the European Union. Researchers in Swiss institutions have been facing uncertainty ...

Fri, 17 Sep 2021 09:47:00 GMT
Health office advocates vaccine three months after Covid recovery
People who catch Covid-19 should get vaccinated three months after recovering and not six months, says the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). This new recommendation has been made due to the spread of the more contagious Delta variant, explaine...

Fri, 17 Sep 2021 07:53:00 GMT
Bern Covid protest turns violent
Police used a water cannon, rubber bullets and irritant spray to break up an illegal demonstration against coronavirus measures that turned violent in the Swiss capital Bern on Thursday night. “After several warnings from police, participants push...

Thu, 16 Sep 2021 15:12:00 GMT
Switzerland examines Covid booster jab options
The Swiss medicines regulator is reviewing requests from vaccine producers Pfizer/Biontech and Moderna to use their product for third booster jabs. Swissmedic said on Thursday that both vaccine makers had submitted their proposals and supporting dat...

Thu, 16 Sep 2021 14:35:00 GMT
WEF annual meeting returns to Davos in 2022
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced it will resume its flagship annual meeting in its traditional Davos venue in 2022. The meeting of the world’s most powerful politicians, business figures and representatives of civil society, culture an...

Thu, 16 Sep 2021 12:21:00 GMT
Switzerland poised to impose 4% video streaming levy
Video streaming platforms, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+, may in future be obliged to donate 4% of their profits towards supporting the Swiss film industry. On Thursday, both chambers of the Swiss parliament agreed on the amount to be su...

Thu, 16 Sep 2021 07:09:00 GMT
Swiss companies hit public listing jackpot
Two of the most successful Swiss company listings of recent times have taken place in the space of a week, raising hundreds of millions of dollars from stock market investors in New York. Sports shoe manufacturer On Group, which is backed by Swiss t...



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